DENVER – Michael Malone got a look at Jamal Murray, saw the signs and body language, and knew it was time to talk to his captain.
He’s missed 12 of his 17 shot attempts up to that point, many of which come with easy looks that he normally does. But that wasn’t what Malone was worried about. The Denver Nuggets were on course for a bloody fourth quarter game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, with Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in the balance. Miss it, they were seeping into the other parts of Murray’s game. defense. Involvement of others in the crime. If the Nuggets were going to pull this off and protect their home field in the Ball Arena, Malone needed his base guard to be at his best, missed shots or not.
“I told him, don’t let your insult dictate your game,” Malone said. “Find a way to bring your defense into the game and then build that up.”
As we head into Game 3 on Saturday night, a game the Lakers have to win to keep their season alive, we do because Murray went into the fourth quarter on Thursday night and basically did the impossible. A 108-103 win over the Lakers wouldn’t be possible without Murray hitting 23 of his 37 in those 12 minutes. It wouldn’t be possible without Murray volleying, getting into the lane, and making loopy baskets. It wouldn’t be possible without Murray cooking Keys, burning the Lakers’ cap, or shaking out a three-quarter slump and doing what hasn’t been done in some time.
The 23 points tallied by Murray’s 37 points marked a milestone seldom seen in postseason history. It’s the fifth 20-point quarterfinal, which only Stephen Curry has done. It’s his fourth 20-point quarter after the season, the most since 1997. Only Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson have achieved it more than once. It was simply one of those magical neighborhoods that only the greats had access to.
But Murray clearly has that kind of offensive roof. Who could forget the unforgettable – his bubblegum almost always masquerading as the best offensive player in basketball? And who can forget all the spare minutes he routinely takes over in the regular season?
The difference is that Murray can sometimes run hot and cold, sometimes in the same game. Sometimes, the beauty of his bird produces a rumble on the edge. Sometimes his yo-yo handle would produce an unforced spin. Malone knows this. The two have formed an unspoken bond for the past seven years. That’s why, in the midst of everything going on in a game that features multiple tides, he knew Murray needed words of encouragement. These are the words that produced the classics.
“After half a shootout like the one I just had, I usually like to reset it, come back down, put my mind at ease, do some quick meditation and come back focused,” Murray said. “I missed my first couple, coming out and having some really good looks. The game would have been a lot easier if I had made it in the first half. I just wanted to come out focused and knock them down. I didn’t lose any confidence or anything like that.” I just wanted to play my game, and I was confident that they would fall if I kept shooting them.”
Yes 27 pic.twitter.com/dPXc359k5p
– Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 19, 2023
In both Game 1 on Tuesday and Game 2 on Thursday, the Lakers had their chances to steal the home court advantage in the series. And without Murray, it might have happened on Thursday night. It wasn’t like Game 1, which was more like a track meet, a game in which the Nuggets lead as many as 21 points, and then were forced to continue up the stretch.
This was a rocky battle, a battle of wills. This was a game where the Lakers expended a lot of energy on defense. Los Angeles led by as many as 11 points in the first half, trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half and still found a way to have extended ball possession. It was a game where the Lakers gave Nikola Jokic more defensive attention, made good adjustments overall, and put themselves in position to win heading into the fourth quarter.
Here are some reasons why this may not happen.
This post-season Denver has become accustomed to winning minutes when Jokic was benched. It didn’t happen in the first half, as the Lakers took a 10-0 lead, forced a stoppage, and then forced Malone to play Jokic the entire third and fourth quarters without rest. But, in that fourth quarter, at the nine-minute mark, Malone sat Jokic and the Nuggets trailed 82-81. Denver took a 6-1 lead, and Jokic put back an 87-83 lead and scored immediately after that timeout to make it 90-83. At its peak, the Nuggets opened up to a 96-84 lead with just over five minutes remaining. And that’s a good thing because the Lakers almost erased all of that deficit in the final minutes of the game.
Second, this was a night Murray wouldn’t let his team lose. Hit several shots with the clockwise winding. He reached the basket off the dribble and made shots at the midrange and at the edge. Whenever the Nuggets needed big possession down the stretch, he was the one who provided it.
“It was special,” said Jokic. “He was special. We won the game, he scored a 20-something in the fourth quarter, and we got the lead. His energy, he played almost 42 minutes, that was amazing. Maybe in the first half, he struggled to get a few shots, but he was there when It was more important.”
What is clear is that Denver will not feel comfortable in this series, unless it wins this weekend’s game in Los Angeles. Both games at the Ball Arena were close enough to have a reasonable path to a road win over the Lakers at some point in the series. At the end of the day, in addition to the Nuggets playing, the fact that they’re the team acclimated to Denver’s height has been a huge advantage so far.
Malone adamantly said the Denver defense needs to travel for the Nuggets to steal one in Los Angeles. But, for now, a 2-0 series lead in such a physical sense gives the Lakers a big hill to climb.
(Photo by Jamal Murray and LeBron James in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals: Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)